It all started when...

Shortly after Michael Brown was killed, I had a candid conversation with a friend of mine who was dealing with discrimination in Corporate America because of his beard. It was at that point my frustration with the racial climate turned into inspiration. I wanted to create a platform that specifically catered to the black community, particularly black men. After doing my own research, I found that the beard market was dominated by and catered mostly to white men, and on November 4, 2014, I started Black Men With Beards on Instagram. Within two months, the account grew to over 1,000 followers. The response was overwhelming, and we had no idea we were filling a void by empowering and motivating not only black men but black women, too.